I’ll be attending the Sharjah Book Fair which runs in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates Nov 5 to 12, where I look forward to the opportunity to sign my books at section 1129, which is the Jumaira Publishing stall. Here is a link to a full article about this event where Glenn Greenwald will be honoured with the “Best International Non-Fiction Book Award” for his book “No Place To Hide”, published by Macmillan Publishers. – See more at: http://gulfnews.com/news/uae/education/winners-of-sharjah-book-fair-awards-announced-1.1610307

I am blessed with the rare experience of having lived within two very contrasting cultures, and with speaking two major languages with complete fluency. I therefore decided to write in English to expose what goes on in the Arab Muslim Middle East, pointing out the stark contrasts in the structure and behaviour of the two societies. Read More

This evening, Ottawa novelist Mike Martin launched his latest novel, A TWIST OF FORTUNE, the fourth in the Sgt Windflower Mystery series, at 100 Gloucester, in downtown Ottawa. A crowd of over 20 attended, sampled finger foods, enjoyed a couple of songs and listened to 2 readings by the author. Good luck Mike!

Just back to Ottawa after five busy weeks in London, UK, and Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates and in Thailand. In London, I participated in a conference on the region of Hadhramaut which forms a large chunk of the country of Yemen. It was about culture, politics and health in that region. The faculty came from so many unlikely corners of the world, and the thing that really amazed me was that they all spoke fluent Arabic, coming from Germany, The Netherlands, Ethiopia, Greece, and even Japan, in addition of course to Yemen itself and Britain. The evening before I left Dubai, I attended the grand and lavish opening ceremony of the annual Emirates Writers’ Festival, held with the support of Emirates Airlines. (See photo of opening ceremony) Two years ago I was one of dozens of invited speakers. This time I could not stay long enough to attend…

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Biography

Qais Ghanem was born in Aden, at the time a British colony, now part of Yemen. He has lived in Britain, USA, Qatar, The United Arab Emirates, and moved to Canada 45 years ago. He dedicates much of his time to human rights and gender equality, and his novels, based on real or imaginary events in Yemen, are all about gender equality and human rights for all.